Nintendo Power - Nintendo's helpful Magazine

[StoneKnightMan]

Nintendo Power. the magazine that nintendo owned and distributed for its players. it started in 1988 and ended in 2012.
(First Issue)

today we have GameInformer, but back then, nintendo power was one of the best magazines for gamers.

they had alot of great stuff from it. there were strategy guides, posters, stickers, even comics too!

though, there were some weird shit as well, even really gross ads.

heres angry video game nerd's video talking about it

in 2012. it was unfortunatly discontinued. But then, it was revived and made into a podcast on soundcloud.

heres the link https://soundcloud.com/nintendopowerpodcast

 

[The Shadow]

I had a subscription to Nintendo Power at one point (around the time the GBA/Gamecube came out). They did have some neat exclusive stuff but their reviews always skewed towards "It's pretty good, you should buy it" being it was Nintendo's in-house rag.

GameInformer was pretty entertaining around the same time. I was always a GamePro and EGM guy, though.

 

[Nekromantik]

Had this way back in the day. I still remember the issues for Link to the past and Super Mario world. That was a fun summer. The one with Super Mario world gave a lot of tips I think.

Now I feel like playing some Super Nintendo.

 

[garakfan69]

The Chad Amiga Power vs the virgin shill:

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

I had a subscription to Nintendo Power for a while.
Was really bummed when they stop making new issues.

 

[Glad I couldn't help]

I had a subscription to Nintendo Power at one point (around the time the GBA/Gamecube came out). They did have some neat exclusive stuff but their reviews always skewed towards "It's pretty good, you should buy it" being it was Nintendo's in-house rag.

GameInformer was pretty entertaining around the same time. I was always a GamePro and EGM guy, though.

My brother had a subscription for several years after getting a N64. I recall the only review that was really very negative was for Superman 64, I think it got a 4 or something.

Thinking about, it wouldn't surprise me that the rise of the "angry video game reviewer" in the early days of YouTube was a delayed response to the 7-9 scale of game reviews, channelling the negativity of video game boards.

 

[Haramburger]

NES and SNES era issues were absolutely based. Even when you consider it was a shilling conflict-of-interest rag, it still provided great maps and tips for areas that stuck with you, even if you didn't play the games until decades later.

Apparently Steve Jobs famously sent in regular high scores screenshots for Tetris under an alias that you can go back and check today, so it has some interesting credibility with the culture that way.

 

[Martys_not_smarty]

NES and SNES era issues were absolutely based. Even when you consider it was a shilling conflict-of-interest rag, it still provided great maps and tips for areas that stuck with you, even if you didn't play the games until decades later.

Apparently Steve Jobs famously sent in regular high scores screenshots for Tetris under an alias that you can go back and check today, so it has some interesting credibility with the culture that way.

Aint that the truth anytime they'd do a list of the best games for their consoles surprise surprise thee-quarters of them would be first party games followed by Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III.

 

[Haramburger]

Aint that the truth anytime they'd do a list of the best games for their consoles surprise surprise thee-quarters of them would be first party games followed by Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III.

the compromise with Square games not sweeping awards is that they had multi-issue guides for FF3 and Secret of Mana that were really comprehensive.

 

[The Shadow]

NES and SNES era issues were absolutely based. Even when you consider it was a shilling conflict-of-interest rag, it still provided great maps and tips for areas that stuck with you, even if you didn't play the games until decades later.

Apparently Steve Jobs famously sent in regular high scores screenshots for Tetris under an alias that you can go back and check today, so it has some interesting credibility with the culture that way.

It was Steve Wozniak, not Steve Jobs.

 

[Martys_not_smarty]

the compromise with Square games not sweeping awards is that they had multi-issue guides for FF3 and Secret of Mana that were really comprehensive.

True and I have a feeling there's still resentment widely agreed upon the best Gamecube game ever is Resident Evil 4.

 

[ducktales4gameboy]

I really liked their comics and peripheral content in the early days.

There's a great bit in Console Wars about how weird and tightly knit the US branch of Nintendo was during the early days and the relationship between Gamemaster Howard and the Nintendo staff and how it resulted in Howard and Nester and the weird feel of early NP in general. For a brief period Nintendo's US office actually did operate in the weird sort of willy wonka-ish way that kids assumed it did, and the documentation from that era is fascinating.

 

[MediocreMilt]

I had a subscription to Nintendo Power at one point (around the time the GBA/Gamecube came out). They did have some neat exclusive stuff but their reviews always skewed towards "It's pretty good, you should buy it" being it was Nintendo's in-house rag.

GameInformer was pretty entertaining around the same time. I was always a GamePro and EGM guy, though.

If you really want to go there, wasn't GameInformer basically the GameStop magazine?

#GamerGatePrequelEdition

 

[The Shadow]

If you really want to go there, wasn't GameInformer basically the GameStop magazine?

#GamerGatePrequelEdition

It was FuncoLand's in-store mag that came with their discount card. They were pretty irreverent before GameStop came around and I recall an issue of theirs being the first to use "autistic" in a humorous way, referring to Adam Sandler as an "autistic funnyman".

 

[XYZpdq]

I had an NP subscription back in the NES-SNES era, dropped off as the N64 became a thing.
I joined up during the "Subscribe and we'll unload an unsold Dragon Warrior cart" period.
Good stuff. Those old Howard and Nester comics were fun. Was there ever an ID on who did the Japanese ones?

 

[Billy_Sama]

While I moved on to the internet from magazines, I kind of want Nintendo Power to comeback on the digital format, less on reviews and ads but having fun features like they did back then but you can browse on the internet or on your Switch or 3DS.

 

[Foxxo]

It was the best. It was the only entertaining thing to check out from the School Library, other than Narnia and The 39 Clues.

 

[Francis E. Dec Esc.]

I was a subscriber from the Nintendo Fun Club era to 1997ish. I still have my copy of Dragon Warrior they sent me.

 

[JM 590]

They'd send out tapes every now and then, like this Star Fox one:

Nintendo Power Star Fox 64 Promotional VHS June 1997

This is the rare Star Fox 64 Promo VHS tape, On occasion, many subscribers of Nintendo Power magazine, along with game console owners who registered their co...

www.youtube.com

It's a gem, like Youtube before Youtube.

 

[Spooderman112]

Nintendo Power. the magazine that nintendo owned and distributed for its players. it started in 1988 and ended in 2012.
(First Issue)
View attachment 693609

today we have GameInformer, but back then, nintendo power was one of the best magazines for gamers.

they had alot of great stuff from it. there were strategy guides, posters, stickers, even comics too!

though, there were some weird shit as well, even really gross ads.

heres angry video game nerd's video talking about it

in 2012. it was unfortunatly discontinued. But then, it was revived and made into a podcast on soundcloud.

heres the link https://soundcloud.com/nintendopowerpodcast

What were the really gross ads?? Wot